A Vietnamese pastor has been released from prison after serving 12 years behind bars for his faith. Pastor Y’ Yich (59) of Dega Protestant Church in Vietnam’s Central Highlands has been released after serving a twelve-year prison sentence.
Even though he has been released, he is not free. He must now serve 3-5 years probation, checking in regularly with the local police about his activities.
Pastor Yich was arrested on 13 May 2013 during a time when Vietnam had less religious freedom than many of its Christians are enjoying today. 12 years ago many of the pastors that BTJ worked with in Vietnam were on the run for their faith, but today many of the Christians are doing things they never imagined 12 years ago.
Pastor Y’Yich has five children that have qualified for the BTJ Martyr’s Scholarship to help with their school expenses.
The BTJ Martyr’s Scholarship program focuses on supporting the education of children impacted by religious persecution, especially in places like Vietnam where Pastor Y’Yich has been persecuted.
Every year BTJ helps several children in the most persecuted regions on earth to go to school and receive an education.
Pastor Y’Yich is one of the pastors that paved the way for today’s generation by never compromising the faith and his family has suffered a great deal. In November 2013 he was sentenced to twelve years in prison for spreading the Gospel message, growing his church, and meeting with other Christians who were also imprisoned for their faith.
While in prison, the father of five was tortured and abused suffering from high blood pressure, joint pain, stomach inflammation, hepatitis and kidney stones, but prison authorities denied him access to medical treatment.
“The highland people have been heavily persecuted,” Pastor David from Vietnam reports. Pastor David has been partnered with BTJ for more than 10 years. “Many Christians fled to Thailand and Cambodia during that time,” Pastor David said, but Pastor Y’Yich was one of the believers that was not able to flee.
During Pastor Yich’s imprisonment, there has been one person advocating for him by the name of Glenn Grothman, a US Congressman. In an email, Mr. Grothman wrote, “I’m deeply relieved to learn of the release of Vietnamese prisoner of conscience Y Yich. In 2022, I was proud to sponsor Y Yich after learning of his unjust imprisonment for simply practicing his Christian faith. He served twelve unnecessary years in prison, and his release this May was long overdue. No one should ever be persecuted, tortured, or imprisoned because of their religious beliefs. Y Yich’s story serves as a reminder of the brutal reality of communism and its long record of human rights abuses around the world.”
BTJ has been supporting more the training of more than 25 Vietnamese evangelists to work in the Highlands of Vietnam.
*picture from US Commission for International Religious Freedom
